Long Distance Something
by ButterflyRae
Summary: “You insensitive jerk!” yelled Casey, flinging herself onto the couch and starting to sob. “I know that you can’t get wait to get out of here, but for some stupid messed up reason I’m really going to miss you." Dasey.
1. I'm going to miss people

**Long Distance Something**

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George attributed it to the heat. It was smack dab in the middle of a particularly hot and humid August, and for the last few weeks Derek had been particularly irritable. He had been more sarcastic then normal and had even snapped at Marti a few times. And, of course, he had been meaner than ever to Casey. George wished that Derek and Casey would at least try to get a long in the little time they had left with their family. There were only three more days before Casey was off to college and one week after that until Derek was off as well.

Of course, Casey's behavior lately was only fueling Derek's snarkiness toward her. George knew that his stepdaughter was very anxious about leaving home. As independent as she was, the idea of leaving seemed to really upset her. For the last week, she had been quite emotional. She would frequently burst into tears for no apparent reason and had been taking picture after picture of the house and the family. This only elicited looks of disdain and snide comments from Derek. George rolled his eyes as he saw the two them coming down the stairs, apparently at it again, and took that as his cue to leave.

"Der-ek!" yelled Casey. "How could you?!"

"It was easy, Spacey," Derek said snidely. "I just took a permanent marker and started drawing."

"How dare you draw mustaches on the pictures in my family photo album!" Casey fumed. "You know that I've been working on that all month!"

"Relax, Drama Queen, it's just on the plastic photo covers. I didn't actually draw on the photos themselves."

"Even so," screamed Casey, "it will take me hours to put them in a new album! Not to mention the cost of buying one!"

"Yeah, well, serves you right for not using a digital album like the rest of the world," Derek said.

"Aren't you even going to apologize!" said Casey.

"Wasn't planning on it," Derek shrugged.

"Derek Venturi, sometimes you just make me so mad!" said Casey.

"Well," said Derek, bitterly, "fortunately for you, in a couple days you won't have to deal with me any more."

"You . . . you . . ." Casey's lip quivered and tears welled up in her eyes.

"What now? Developed a speak impediment?" asked Derek.

"You insensitive jerk!" yelled Casey, flinging herself onto the couch and starting to sob. "I know that you can't get wait to get out of here, but for some stupid messed up reason I'm really going to miss you." She buried her face in the arm of the couch and continued to sob.

Derek took one look at her crying and let out a sigh of defeat. He sat down next her on the couch, looked away from her, and quietly started to speak.

"God, Case," he whispered gently, "how stupid can you get."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" she sniffled, turning toward him.

"Of course I'm going to miss . . . people," he said. "Why else do you think I've been on such a short fuse these last few weeks?"

Casey smiled softly and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. He hadn't actually said that he would miss her but she knew that was what he meant. She threw her arms around him and started to softly cry again.

At first Derek stiffened, apparently shocked by her actions, but eventually Casey felt his body relax. At some point her even put his arm around her and started stroking her hair. It was comforting and eventually Casey fell asleep. When she woke up, Derek was gone.

For the next few days, things were awkward between them. The teasing and pranking stopped and Derek rarely met her eyes. Whenever he spoke to her it was in a soft and serious tone. And then, as she was leaving, something unexpected happened. After saying his goodbye, Derek quickly hugged her. And Casey could have sworn that she heard him mumble something about e-mailing . . .

**Another's Note:** This story is unusual for me in that I've written the first chapter before I had a clear idea of where I was going with it. I know that it will be a Dasey but how exactly it will unfold remains to be seen.


	2. Dear Family

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long wait in posting this chapter. It probably will take longer to update this story, since, unlike my past chapter stories, I have not outlined the whole thing in advance. I have a couple ideas of things that I might want to include, but they are kind of fuzzy at this point. Anyways, here is the next chapter . . . read & review.

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_After saying his goodbye, Derek quickly hugged her. And Casey could have sworn that she heard him mumble something about e-mailing . . . _

But Casey found that she couldn't e-mail him. At least not unless he e-mailed her first. It wasn't that she didn't want to. So much happened during her first few weeks there and there were so many things that she wanted to tell him. Being on her own was both scary and exciting and she wondered how he was dealing with his first weeks. She composed several drafts of what she wanted to say to him but something was holding her back from hitting the send button.

After all, the whole thing was a bit weird, wasn't it? They hadn't exactly been friends in high school and here she was preparing to send him paragraphs worth of her personal thoughts and feelings. Maybe he would think it was strange. Or maybe he would laugh at her. After all, she wasn't even sure that she heard him correctly that day that she left . . . And why was she spending so much time obsessing over this anyways? This was just her annoying stepbrother, Derek.

In the end, she decided to compose an e-mail to the entire family. He was included on it, but so were Lizzie, Edwin, Marti, and their parents. And it started off "Dear Family" rather than "Dear Derek." Sure, it didn't contain most of the things that she wanted to say, but bits and pieces of her previous drafts were in there. And sure, a lot of it was stuff that she had already told her Mom and sister on the phone, but there was nothing wrong with mentioning things more than once.

Part of her didn't really expect him to write back and another part of her was scared that he wouldn't. It came as a surprise to her when an e-mail from him showed up in her inbox that very night.

Her next thought was that she had made too much of the whole e-mail thing in her mind. Obviously he hadn't been stressing about it if he was able to shoot back a response so quickly. It was probably just a quick note teasing her for writing to them as if she had gone to sleep-away camp or something. Yet, for some reason, she waited until her roommate was sleeping to open it.

"Dear Case" it began. "Dear Case;" not "Dear Family." This was only to her.

_Dear Case,_

_It's weird to be writing this to you knowing that you're not on the other side of the wall. It's been an interesting couple of weeks here. It's strange being in a place where everyone doesn't know me or think that I'm some sort of legend. Yeah, I can just see you rolling your eyes at me as I type this. I have to admit though, coming here I felt pretty small and anonymous. And the really strange part is, I kind of liked it. _

_Remember when you were dating Max and you sort of felt like you had to be a certain sort of person for him? Well it was like that for me in high school except there were like 500 Maxes. Not that I didn't enjoy being "Derek Venturi;" I guess that the whole high school thing was just beginning to get kind of old (probably why they kick you out after 4 years). It's kind of cool sort of figuring myself out here and knowing that everybody is else is in pretty much the same boat. _

_My roommate, Josh, is a solid guy. I found out that he's on the hockey team with me too so we spend a good chunk of our day together. Practice has been going well and the team is pretty good. There are also a lot of nice people on my floor. But it's late and I can tell you more about that some other time. _

_What I really want to know is what things have been like for you. I know that you wrote all about your floor and your classes in your letter to Dad and Nora, but I guess what I mean is how has it really been for you going through your first few weeks? Are you stressing over being in a new place or are you glad to be able to be just Casey? I know that you weren't exactly thrilled with your first few weeks as a new student at Sir John Sparrow, but then again you had the fact that you were Derek Venturi's stepsister working against you . . . Yeah, sorry about that. _

Casey imagined him smirking slightly as he wrote that sentence and she had to smile.

_Seriously though, Case, remember that time when you told me that you couldn't always be around to protect me? Well it kind of feels strange not being there to protect you or snap you out of it when you let yourself get worked up over some issue. God, that sounds sappy. What I guess I mean is that I hope that you're not letting things get you bent out of shape there; we both know that, in the end, you'll be able to handle whatever life throws at you._

_Anyways, I've got an early practice tomorrow so that's it for tonight. Hope you're not keeping your roommate up with your angry chick music. _

_-D_

_P.s.—Hey, do me a favor and don't tell Sam or Emily that I wrote such sappy crap. Still protecting the rep with them for old time's sake. _

When Casey finished, she was smiling. The e-mail had been shorter than any of her drafts, but it had clearly been written just for her. The next letter that she wrote would begin "Dear Derek."

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**Author's Note:** I don't think that the rest of the chapters are not going to be e-mails. It's possible that there may be some in there but there will also be other types of interactions. I haven't completely thought through it yet, but I will. Hope Derek's e-mail wasn't _too_ OC; I wanted it to be more personal than Casey expected but still something that Derek could _conceivably_ write. Hopefully, he will be more in character in the next few chapters.


	3. Not So Much, Part I

**Author's Note:** I know that this chapter is quite short. Originally there was going to be another part to it, but in order to keep the time course of the story / relationship somewhat plausible, I'm going to hold off writing that part until after I write something about Casey and Derek's winter break. Despite its brevity, I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter . . . Read & Review.

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During her first month college, Casey had spoken to her mother and sister almost every day. It had been lonely being away from home and not really knowing anyone. Gradually, however, she made more friends. The frequency of her phone calls lessoned and by the middle of the term, Casey was only talking to or e-mailing her family once every week and a half. Not including Derek, of course. But he was not so much family as . . . as . . .

Even though she had plenty of people to talk to now, the frequency of her e-mails to him hadn't lessoned. Bizarrely, it had actually increased. At first they had written to each other only once a week, but before she was even aware it, it had become an everyday thing. Casey had always been an early riser and now she found herself waking up early every day to write him before her roommate woke up. Why she felt like she had to do it in private was less then clear to her, but she chose not to question it. Then every evening before she went to bed she would find an e-mail from him. His always began with some sort of odd subject line that made her smile but had absolutely nothing to do with what he had written. Hers typically began with "Re: 'Derek's Bizarre Subject Line' " but sometimes she tried to be clever herself . . . Only to get mercilessly teased about her lame attempts every time.

Honestly, Casey had no idea how this person with whom she could barely hold a civil conversation while in high school had become such a fixture in her daily routine. She hated to admit it to herself, but she knew that it would probably upset her at this point if the e-mails stopped.

Casey was surprised to find herself writing to him about pretty much everything. The only thing that she didn't feel comfortable writing about was her love life. Not that she had much of one. However, she had dated someone from her English class for just over three weeks and had completely failed to mention it to him . . .

She told herself that this was because she didn't consider it serious. Therefore, there was no need to mention it to anyone in her family. After all, why even bring up a guy that she really didn't consider her boyfriend? When she found that she was still telling herself this after dating the guy for three weeks she had to admit that something was wrong . . . She decided to maintain that it was a problem in her relationship with the guy. Yes, a problem with her not-so-much boyfriend. A day after she convinced herself that there was something wrong in their not-so-much relationship, she dumped him. She hadn't really dated anyone else since then.

Derek, of course, had to be dating slews of people. Although he had never mentioned any to her, she only assumed that he had to be. She didn't think about it a lot, because when she did, she found that, for some reason, both her e-mails to him and interactions with people at school were short and snarky. And surely he or her family would have mentioned it to her if there had been anything serious . . .

As much as the two of them e-mailed, they never IMed or talked on the phone. Engaging in real time conversation while at school was almost like some sort of line that neither of them were quite willing to cross. That wouldn't change until a few months after Derek and Casey saw each other again . . .

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**Author's Note:** Next up, Casey, Derek, and the rest of the family are going to have winter break together. Although, I haven't decided exactly how that break will go yet, but it should be interesting to write . . .


	4. Conversations AND Peanut Butter Shoes

**Author's Note:** Wow, guys, thanks for all the reviews so far. I really didn't expect that last chapter to get as many as it did given that it was so short. I, personally, am more satisfied with this chapter than the last one. Hope you like it too . . . Read & review.

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Casey was amazed at how quickly her first term in college seemed to fly by. It was December, and she was loading some bags into her car to go home to London for the holidays. Knowing that Derek would be taking the Prince, Casey had purchased the used Volvo station wagon a month before she left for school. Of course, Derek had teased her that it was a soccer mom car and had covered the back in stupid bumper stickers ("Baby on Board," "Earl's in the Trunk," "I Swerve and Hit People at Random"), but it got her where she was going.

As she got in the car and headed out on her way, Casey couldn't help wonder who she would find when she got home . . . the guy who wrote her e-mails every night or the one who put her cell phone in the mayonnaise jar. She knew that he had arrived the previous day and he had written her an e-mail as usual. Except it was _un_usual behavior for "At-Home-Derek" and she didn't know what to expect anymore . . .

Casey arrived home around eight o'clock that evening. Most of the family was watching TV in the living room and Lizzie and Marti practically attacked her with hugs as soon as she unlocked the front door. The only person that she didn't see there was Derek. But she didn't have to wait long to say hello to him.

"Smerek!" Marti called upstairs. "Get your butt down here! Casey's home!"

"Down in a sec!" she heard his voice call and saw him come down the stairs.

"Hey, Space Case," he said. "Glad to see you didn't crash the Mom Mobile on the way home."

Although it was something that the old Derek might have said to her, at the same time, it was somehow different. His voice seemed somehow softer and more affectionate and he was smiling warmly at her.

"Hey," she smiled back at him.

"Bring home enough stuff?" he said, coming down and looking at her bags in amusement.

"Well, I needed room for Christmas presents," she said.

"What did you buy everyone?" he said, picking up one of her suitcases. "Lead bricks?"

And then he did something that completely shocked everyone. He told them that he'd carry the bags to her room while she caught up with the family. And he did.

And that's sort of how it was most of the time she was home. In some ways, he was the same old Derek. He still teased her and even pulled off a couple pranks, but there was a different quality to the things he did . . . Of course, there were other changes in their relationship as well. For one thing, they actually hung out together. Often it was with Sam, Emily, or another friend or family member, but sometimes it was just the two of them. And Casey realized that Derek wasn't an either-or type of person. No, with him she got both meaningful conversations _and_ peanut butter in her shoes . . .

When they were alone, they tended to really talk more, but he also wasn't afraid to be friendly to her in public. After all their e-mails she realized that she shouldn't have been surprised by it, but the first time that it happened she was . . .

It was the day after she got home and they were watching TV together when Derek's ex-girlfriend Kendra called. She was having a Christmas get together the next day and had called to invite Derek to come. Casey was shocked to hear Derek ask, "Is it alright if Casey comes too?"

Kendra must have said yes, because Derek told her that they would see her tomorrow. After the initial shock wore off, Casey realized that she was actually kind of angry at him. After all, she hadn't agreed to go . . .

"Did you just tell Kendra that I would go to a party?" she asked angrily.

"Yeah," he said quizzically. "What about it?"

"Derek what gives you the right to do that?!" she asked. "What makes you think that I want to go?"

"Well, you do, don't you?" he smirked, giving her a highly amused look.

Casey bit her bottom lip hesitantly and looked up at him. Of course she wanted to go. But it was quite possible that she wouldn't know anyone at that party . . .

"Case," he said, as if reading her mind, "Sam's going to be there too. And I'm sure that she's inviting Amy from cheerleading. Besides," he smiled, "you can always talk to me."

So Casey went. And she did talk to him. And even though there were a lot of people that he knew at that party, he made sure to include her. It was . . . nice.

Although her mother and George certainly noticed that they were getting along better, Casey figured that they probably thought that Derek had just matured a bit. And although Casey told herself that there wasn't much more to it than that, for some reason she had no desire to tell them about the e-mails . . . However, an incident with the Christmas presents seemed like it set off some sort of alarm bell in their minds.

Casey's present to Derek had been easy. At her mother's suggestion, she, Liz, Ed, and Marti had all chipped in and bought Derek a really nice camera lens to go with the new camera that her Mom and George were getting him for his photography class next term. It was what Derek had got gotten her that had caught everyone's attention.

It wasn't that his gifts to her were particularly expensive—far from it. He couldn't have spent more than twenty-five or thirty dollars total. He had simply gotten her two paperback novels. The first one was "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon and the second one was a book by John Barth called "Giles Goat-Boy." To someone who was unfamiliar with the authors, the titles sounded extremely strange. Upon seeing "Giles Goat-Boy," George had had to comment.

"Derek," he said, sounding irritated, "did you just go the book store and pick out the weirdest titles that you could find?"

Derek looked a little bit guilty, but Casey knew that it was not for the reason that George thought. Casey had read books by each of these authors in her English class last term and written to Derek about how much she enjoyed them.

"Actually, George," she said quietly, "I really like both these authors."

"Oh," said George, giving Derek a puzzled look.

"Yeah," Derek said to Casey, avoiding his father's gaze, "I figure that you would like these."

"Thanks," she smiled looking down. Yet she could sense the look that passed between her mother and George.

That look probably had something to do with the fact that it took them more than two months after they returned to school to move beyond simply e-mailing each other. For Casey, it took an argument with her roommate and a couple of drinks before she got up the nerve to call him . . .

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**Author's Note:** Yes, those are real books. I've only read one of them, but I've heard about the other. Not sure that they would actually be Casey's cup of tea (probably not—at least not _Lot 49_), but they are considered Literature with a capital L and the titles are just odd enough that they worked for this chapter. The last few chapters have been Casey heavy (she is easier for me to write and better for subtly building the plot), but next chapter I think I might finally give you a window into what Derek is really thinking.


	5. Not So Much, Part II

**Author's Note:** Hi all. Sorry for taking so long to update. Because more is going on in both my life and the story, the next few chapters may also be slower in coming. Hope you enjoy them though. Read & review.

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It was Saturday night and Derek was out at a diner with the hockey team. Well, the hockey team, Josh's girlfriend Tess, and her roommate Katie. Although Derek thought of it as just hanging out, he had a sinking feeling that Katie thought it was sort of a date. Sure, he had made out with her at a party last weekend, but it wasn't something that he was proud of or intended to repeat. She was a nice girl, but Derek wasn't really looking for a girlfriend at the moment nor was he looking to renew that "Ladies Man" rep that he had in high school. It was great when he was 15, but he was older now, and had decided that it wasn't how he wanted people to think of him in college.

In fact, Derek sort of considered the whole thing last weekend a slip up . . . It was the first "slip up" that he'd really had since he had gone off to college. He had been in an unusually bad mood that day and had ended up drinking much more than he planned. Although he hadn't thought it through very much, he was vaguely aware that it had something to do with Casey and the e-mail that he'd received from her that morning. It was uncharacteristically snippy and short. It was like she was somehow mad it him, although he had no idea why. He had received a few other e-mail like that from her before and whenever he had asked her if everything was okay, she had completely ignored the question . . . Getting another one like that threw off his whole day off and somehow he had ended up making out with a girl that he didn't really like.

Derek was thinking about how to break things to Katie gently when his phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out of his jacket and looked to see who could be calling him this late.

"It's Casey," he said out loud, surprised.

"The step-sister?" asked Katie. "The one that you're always talking about."

"Yeah," Josh answered for Derek. Derek had already walked outside the diner to take the call.

"Hello?" Derek asked, surprised that she had called him.

"Derek?" said Casey. "It's Casey."

"Yeah, Case, I sort of figured that," he laughed.

"Is this a good time?" she asked, sounding nervous.

"Sure," he said. "Is everything okay?"

There was an awkward pause before Casey said something totally unexpected.

"Derek, do you think I'm a prude?!" she blurted out.

"What?" asked Derek, puzzled about where this was coming from.

"Do you think I'm a prude?" she repeated.

Just then, Derek heard music blaring from the other end of the line and Casey shouted "I'm in here!"

"Case, where exactly are you?" he asked.

"I'm in the bathroom," she said. "At a party."

"Then yeah, Case," he laughed softly, recalling a time when he'd been in a similar situation with her. "I do think that you're a prude."

"Derek," she said, softly, "I'm serious about this."

"Case," he asked nervously, "is . . . is some guy pressuring you to do something that you're not comfortable with?"

"No, of course not, Derek!" she said, annoyed. "There's no guy involved in this. Well, at least not involved with me."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, remember that poor guy Mark that I told you about?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "The one who kept asking out your roommate even though she wasn't interested, right?"

He vaguely wondered at himself, surprised that he was so up on the lives of people he didn't even go to school with, but didn't really spend much time thinking about it.

"Yeah," said Casey, "that's the one. And even though I know that Sarah doesn't like him, she's sort of making out with him right now."

"Oh," said Derek. "Everything okay with her?"

"Yeah," said Casey, "that's just the thing. When I asked her that, and reminded her of how she had turned Mark down just the other day, she said that she was just having a little fun and called me a prude. I know that she's had a bit to drink—frankly so have I—but still it really hurt when—"

"Come on in there already!" Derek could here someone yell from Casey's end of the line. "Go to bathroom upstairs!" Casey shouted angrily. "Sorry about that," she said to Derek.

"It's okay, Case," he laughed. "And no, I don't think you're a prude. It sounds like you're just a concerned friend."

"Yeah, well . . ." she said, trailing off.

"Case, listen to me," he said. "Sometimes when people drink they do really stupid things and I'm willing to bet that Sarah will regret this in the morning."

At this point, he looked through the dinner window at Katie, who caught his gaze and waved at him.

"But you can't control how other people live their lives. Let her do what she wants at the party, and if you can help it, don't let her leave with him. Sounds like that would only end up hurting this guy."

Derek was relieved that he'd had the sense to stop what he was doing with Katie before the situation had gotten that far. He had a feeling that Sarah was getting herself into a situation a lot like his . . .

"Thanks, Derek," said Casey softly. "I didn't really know who to turn to about this. I don't exactly have the most experience with these sorts of things."

"Any time, Case," he said.

"Well," she said, "I'd better get back to the party."

"Okay," said Derek. "And, Case?"

"Yeah?" she said.

"Call me tomorrow to let me know how it turns out?" he asked.

"Sure," she said softly, smiling to herself. "Talk to you later."

"Later, Case," said Derek, hanging up.

"Everything alright?" asked Katie, who had walked out the diner to check on him.

"Yeah," he said, with a goofy smile on his face. "She just wanted a little advice."

"So . . ." began Katie. "You and your step sister?"

"Yeah?" asked Derek.

"You're pretty close, huh?" asked Katie.

"Yeah," Derek said softly.

"And she's our age?" asked Katie.

"Yeah," said Derek.

"Is it . . . is it kind of like she's your real sister?" asked Katie, hesitantly.

Derek hesitated as well, his eyes full of pity and regret, before shaking his head and looking away.

"Not so much," he said softly.

"Oh," said Katie, understanding. It finally made sense to her why Derek Venturi didn't really date anyone.

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**Author's Note:** So this was probably less dramatic than you were hoping for, but in case you haven't figured it out, I'm all about subtlety and slow build up in this story. And Casey is not into drunk dialing . . . Just tipsy dialing. ;-) She's had just enough to overcome some of the weirdness that she felt in calling; not enough to make her stupid. Hope you liked it. Things may be somewhat less subtle in the next chapter when Derek does something unexpected . . .


	6. This Whatever

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Life called. If it wasn't clear from that last chapter, Derek is either a bit more self-aware or a bit less able to deny his feelings. Maybe both. However, we're approaching a point where things are going to be pretty tough in that department for both of Derek and Casey . . . Read & Review.

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Derek Venturi was studying. Or at least attempting it. It was the Friday before his quarter finals and to say that he was not looking forward to them was a gross understatement. Derek had actually enjoyed most of his classes that term and had kept up surprisingly well. But as the quarter came to a close, he found himself increasing unable to concentrate. After realizing that he had been reading the same paragraph for twenty minutes straight, he slammed his textbook shut in anger. He was not looking forward to being stuck in a classroom while the rest of the world was out enjoying spring break . . .

Okay, so maybe not the rest of the world. Sam's break wasn't until the week after his . . . Oh, and Ralph would be getting out the same week as Derek . . . Okay, so Casey. Casey would be home on break and he wouldn't and it was bugging the hell out of him. Technically, their breaks overlapped by two days. Finals were officially over next Friday and he was free to go home for the weekend. Except that, in a way, he wasn't . . .

The weekend before spring break Derek's school held their annual free outdoor concert. Every year they booked some big name band and most of the students stayed around to see them. This year they had somehow gotten the Raconteurs, a band that Derek was an avid fan of. The concert was widely publicized and Derek knew that he had no good reason to duck out of it. Damn, why had that thought even entered his head? He knew he should be looking forward to that concert.

How the hell had things gotten to this point? It seemed like one minute he was writing her a simple e-mail and the next he was getting weird ideas about ducking out of rock concerts just so that he could see her for a couple days. Not to mention that fact that he was talking to her on phone every day. And sure, a lot of the time she called him. But if something interesting happened to him, or even if nothing did and he just hadn't heard from her by a certain time, _he_ would end up calling her. None of it had been thought out and none of it was planned. It was almost like he had gotten on some sort of crazy ride that was spiraling out of control. And the really scary part was that he had no desire to get off . . .

And now he couldn't focus on what he was supposed to be doing here because he knew that, somewhere out there, she was preparing to go home and he was not. Casey, of course, seemed downright cheerful about not seeing him over spring break. Okay, so maybe not cheerful about it exactly, but certainly excited for him to be able to see the Raconteurs. She brought it up again when he called her later that evening.

She was babbling on and on about that time they had seen Jack White in the White Stripes, of course conveniently neglecting to mention how she had attempted to blackmail him out of his tickets, and at some point, he just couldn't take it anymore. That's when he did something impulsive, reckless, and quite possibly downright stupid.

"Would you want to come up for it?" he interrupted her. "For . . . um . . . the concert."

"O-oh," she stuttered. "Can I do that?"

"Well, um, yeah," he said. "Apparently people here do sometimes bring guests."

" . . . Yeah," she said, after a bit of an awkward pause.

"Yeah that makes sense or yeah you want to come?" he heard himself asking. Since when was he this much of a blustering idiot?

"Yeah, I want to come," she said softly.

"Great," he said. "Just let Dad and Nora know and try to get here by sometime Friday evening."

And, of course, he hung up before she had a chance to respond to that. Because he sure as hell did not want to be the one to bring this up with his father and Nora.

What the fuck had he just done? He was well aware that there were clear lines in their . . . their . . . whatever the hell this thing they were doing was. And he had just crossed about ten of them. What were their parents going to think? And where was he planning on putting her when she arrived? In his room?

Not to mention the weirdness that this could cause between them . . . Derek felt like he got a little preview of that when he tried to call her at home the next night. When she picked up the phone she called him Emily. As in, "Oh hello, Emily," and "Can I call you back tommorow, Emily?" Perhaps it was the result of a recent conversation with their parents when she had arrived at home earlier that day?

Although, who knows—it was possible that he might have gotten that response from her even if he hadn't invited her to the concert. After all, he had never called her when she was at home before and he realized that they'd never actually mentioned their phone conversations to their parents. In some ways, he thought that Casey was kind of frightened of whatever the hell this thing they were doing was. And if he was honest with himself, maybe he was too.

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**Author's Note:** It might be quite a while before I post the next chapter because I think that it will be one of the more difficult for me to write. Also, I chose the Raconteurs because I was lazy and did not want to have to think up another band that both Derek and Casey might like; it's cannon that they are both fans of the White Stripes. By the way, in case anyone isn't aware of this, Meg & Jack White told people that they were brother and sister until someone leaked to the press that they had actually been married. Yeah . . .


	7. The Tougher Questions

**Author's Note:** Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews! Although I don't think it's as compelling as either _Casual Comment _or _Movie Night_, this is now my most reviewed story. I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. :-) Sadly, I started writing this chapter and realized that it would have to be split into two. There was just too much material that I felt I needed to cover. This first part is going to be much less exciting then most of you were probably anticipating and the more interesting stuff (e.g., Casey's visit to Derek's school) will be in the next chapter. On the plus side though, I'm able to post this chapter sooner than I expected. The next chapter will be the more challenging part to write . . . Read & Review.

* * *

Casey MacDonald was packing her bags again as she prepared to head back from spring break . . . Or rather, to head to Derek's school. Just thinking about it made her stomach flutter and she had already picked out a book on tape to try to distract her from the fluttery sensation as she drove there.

When Derek had asked her if she wanted to come, Casey had felt shocked, happy, angry, confused, and nervous. In that order.

She had been excited for him to see the Raconteurs—she really had been. And, sure, maybe excitement wasn't the only thing she felt about him not being home for her break, but that was only natural, wasn't it? He'd been a big part of her life since her mother remarried, and without him there, the house wouldn't feel completely like home. She had tried to put her best face forward about the whole thing and to be enthusiastic about the concert. She had been talking about it again when he had cut her off.

"Would you want to come up for it?" he'd asked. "For . . . um . . . the concert."

That's when she felt that fluttery sensation for the first time. She was stunned, and at first thought that he might be teasing her. But no, apparently people there brought guests and he actually wanted her to come. The thought made the fluttery feeling increase and she had also felt a rush of something else. Finding herself smiling, she realized that it was happiness.

" . . . Yeah," she had said. ". . .Yeah, I want to come."

He had sounded excited as he told her to tell their parents and promptly hung up the phone, and her smile widened.

Then it hit her. He had told her to tell their parents and had promptly hung up the phone.

He had tricked her! He had capitalized on her stunned silence to get her to do something that they both knew would not be fun! Why should she do it rather than him?! She wanted to yell at him. Or strangle him. In fact, she wanted to drive down there directly, shove him against the wall, and . . . No! . . . After all, she couldn't be sure that Derek had meant to trick her.

More than likely, Derek didn't think anything of telling their parents and that's why he had been so casual about. After all, was it really such a big deal that she was going to visit her stepbrother? Why had it even occurred to her that he was trying to trick her? Casey was confused. She wasn't really sure what to make of the invitation, but the thought of telling their parents still made her nervous.

But she'd done it. She'd put it off most of the first day that she was home, but eventually, she got around to it. She had just worked up the nerve to mention it to them when he had called. Her cell phone rang at the most inopportune moment and she pretended that he was Emily. She was not really sure why, but she was less than eager for her parents to overhear one of their phone conversations right before she told them she was going to that concert with him. She had waited another hour after his phone call to try to talk to them again.

They were sitting around the dinner table when she finally brought it up. And they were shocked. She could tell that they were trying to be composed about it, but their efforts largely failed and they looked undeniably flustered. Especially George. Not that her mother was much better about concealing her surprise.

"Oh," Nora had responded, making a poor attempt at a smile, "I'm so glad that you're finally getting along with your step-brother."

"I want to go see Smerek, too!" Marti yelled. Somehow, Marti's innocent desire made the whole thing seem much more normal.

"You'll see him when he's home next week," said George.

"Besides," said Edwin, "this isn't really the type of thing that a guy invites his sibling to."

The rest of the table went quiet and Casey looked at him as if she wanted to burn him alive.

"Um . . . well," reasoned her mother, "Casey and Derek are the same age and do have similar taste in music."

"Yeah, I guess," said Edwin, bitterly. "But I like the Raconteurs too."

At this point, Casey kicked him under the table and shot him the death glare again.

"Too bad, Ed," she said aloud, trying to diffuse the situation. "Maybe you can convince him to invite you next year."

Edwin threw her a suspicious look that caught her completely off guard, but after a minute of staring her down as the conversation went on around them, he shrugged his shoulders and seemed to give up.

Em had also been weird about the whole thing. She was on Spring Break at the same time as Derek and had called to see if Casey wanted to do something that weekend before heading back to school. At first Casey had tried to give her a vague refusal, telling her that she had other plans, but since Em seemed hurt by this, Casey had eventually told her where she was going.

"Let me get this straight," said Emily, "you're going to a Raconteurs' concert with, Derek?! Derek, as in Derek your stepbrother? As in the guy I'd never seen you exchange a pleasant word until winter break?"

"Yeah," said Casey softly. She was glad that they were talking on the phone so that Emily couldn't see her blush . . .

"Are your parents forcing him?" Emily asked, knowingly.

"No!" she said indignantly. "Derek asked me to come!"

"Case, do you even talk to Derek when you're not at home?" Em asked, puzzled. "Why would he invite you to this sort of thing?"

"Actually," said Casey, vaguely, ducking Emily's second question, "we do sometimes call each other . . . Anyways, it will be a great concert, don't you think?"

Fortunately, Emily was bright enough to take the hint and drop the subject. But somewhere in the back of her mind, Casey knew that she'd have to answer the tougher questions eventually—both to the people she cared about and to herself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Spell check wants to replace the word "Smerek" with the word "Smirk." Coincidence? I think not. ;-) On a completely different note, occasionally, stories that I enjoy don't seem to get as many reviews as I think they deserve. Two such LWD stories that are currently active are "Here's to the Nights" and "See You at the Movies." So if you're looking for something else to read, I'd recommend them. :-)

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: I didn't write either of these two stories. "Here's to the Nights" is by AngelofMusic123 and "See You at the Movies" is by IsaDoraKnight.


	8. The Other Half

**Author's Note:** So I had more time yesterday than I thought (e.g., I didn't do _any _of the errands that I was planning to) and knocked this chapter out. Hope you like it . . . Read & Review.

* * *

Casey looked at her watch nervously as she leaned against her car waiting for Derek. She had just arrived on his campus and had already called him to let him know. Their conversation had been terse—he had simply told her that he would be down to meet her and had hung up the phone. What was she doing here? A huge knot had formed in her stomach and she couldn't help but wonder if this was a colossal mistake. She looked at her watch again, wondering where he was, when she heard him call her name.

"Casey!" he said, running down the path toward her. He looked really happy and Casey felt the knot in her stomach instantly dissolve.

"Hey," she replied, smiling back at him. He had finally arrived at her car and leaned up against it trying to catch his breath.

"Glad you made it," he said, shooting her a goofy yet endearing smile.

"Me too," she laughed. She had the urge to hug him but for some reason didn't. For the next few seconds they just stood there looking at each other awkwardly and smiling.

"Well, can I grab your bag?" he asked. "We should probably head to my dorm."

And the knot was back. Was he expecting her to stay in his room?

"Sure," she said, handing him her bag with an awkward half smile.

"So, here's what I was thinking," he said, taking it and motioning for her to follow him up the path. "My roommate's girlfriend has offered to stay in our room and let you take her bed. Sound good to you?"

"That sounds great," she said, inwardly sighing with relief.

"Great," he said, happily. "I think you'll like my friends here."

And she did. In the dorm, Derek introduced her to Josh, Tess, and a few other people. Everyone was really friendly and she had to smile at how happy Derek seemed to be about her meeting all of them.

Katie, the girl that she was staying with, seemed really nice. Derek had left her in Katie and Tess's room as he went to go turn in a take-home final and Casey could tell that Katie was doing her best to make her feel at home. Then, after talking to her for a few minutes, something uncomfortable happened.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you, Casey," Katie said warmly. "Derek talks about you a lot. Ever since the time that he and I dated I've almost felt like I've known you."

"You . . . you dated Derek?" Casey asked, her blood suddenly running cold.

"Only for like a week!" Katie said quickly, looking panicked. "And I don't even know if Derek really considered it dating."

"Oh," said Casey, unaware of how stricken she looked. "I guess that Derek dates a lot of people, huh?"

"Don't worry," said Katie smiling at her. "I think that I've been the only one, and like I said, I don't even know if he considered that dating."

"Oh," said Casey visibly relaxing. "It's not like I was worried though," she lied.

The look that Katie gave her at that point absolutely terrified her. It seemed to say, "Who do you think you're kidding?" After looking at each other awkwardly for a few seconds, both girls found themselves laughing, and for some reason, in spite of that look, Casey found herself relaxing again.

They all went out to dinner that night and Casey found herself having the best time. For some reason being there with him and meeting his friends seemed completely natural. After dinner they headed back to the dorm and hung out for a while before turning in for the night. And Casey didn't even realize that Derek's arm had been slung across her shoulders on the walk back until she thought about all that happened at as she was falling asleep that night . . .

The day of the concert passed so quickly that everything was kind of a blur. It was basically an all day event. People got together to drink, picnic, and barbeque before the band arrived. There were also a number of less well-known opening acts and various groups had set up stands selling things in the area where the concert was taking place.

Finally the Raconteurs arrived and she and Derek weaved their way toward the front of the crowd to watch them. The band was in the middle of a set when Casey suddenly realized that somehow her hand had made its way into Derek's. Although the fluttery feeling that she'd had when preparing to come there returned, Casey made no attempt to remove it. Somehow, it felt right, and Casey started to move her thumb in slow circles against his hand. He looked at her and smiled and she felt her knees go weak.

The rest of the concert passed uneventfully, and before Casey knew it, it was Sunday afternoon. It was time for her to head back to school and for Derek to head home. They were both leaving around the same time and Derek was giving his roommate a ride home on the way to London.

Casey was checking her e-mail on Derek's computer as Derek finished packing and Josh had gone to say goodbye to Tess.

"Done!" Derek exclaimed as he finished zipping his overstuffed bag. Casey smiled, closing her e-mail.

"Then I guess we should head out to the cars as soon as Josh gets back," she said.

"Yeah," he said smiling and looking at her softly.

"Case . . ." he said awkwardly. "I'll miss you." And before she knew it he had pulled her into a hug.

"I'll miss you too," she whispered back to him and felt him start to move his fingers through her hair.

In some ways, it reminded her of that hug that they had shared a few days before she left for college, and yet, it wasn't at all the same. That hug had been about comfort—about two people preparing to leave home and everything that they had ever known for the first time. This hug was about something entirely different.

And in a terrifying instant of perfect clarity, Casey MacDonald realized what she wanted. Half of her wanted nothing more to stay where she was forever—both wrapped in Derek's strong embrace and immersed in the warm ambiguity that was there current relationship. But the other half of her . . . the other half, she finally admitted to herself, wanted Derek Venturi to kiss her.

Suddenly the door opened and Josh walked in. "Oh, sorry," he said, looking embarrassed. "If you want I could come back in a few minutes."

"No, it's okay," Derek said, releasing her. "We should probably get going if we want to make it home before dark." Then Derek smiled at her and picked up both her bag and his own.

"Okay," she said, in a bit of a daze.

After that things remained largely the same. They still talked to each other on the phone everyday and would talk about pretty much the same things that they had the previous term. However, Casey couldn't help recall that moment between them the day that they had said goodbye. The memory of it liked to linger in the back of her mind every time that she called him. And Casey knew that, as pleasant as this was, things couldn't stay this way forever.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know that some of you must have been expecting full-blown Dasey in this chapter. I assure you that it is coming soon. Stay tuned. :-) The next chapter will definitely take a while. Not only will it be a harder one to write but, as said, I sort of spent the weekend procrastinating, and have a lot to do this week. :-(


	9. Going Back

**Author's Note:** So I once again had to divide up what I had planned for this chapter into two. I have just started writing the other part and am actually hoping that it won't have to be divided into three chapters. I'm not completely satisfied with this, but felt like I should update. Hope that you like it and that the last part doesn't feel rushed . . . Read & Review.

* * *

It was opening night of "My Fair Lady", the curtain had just gone down, and Casey MacDonald was in her dressing room on her cell phone.

"The whole cast was amazing," she said. "It was such a rush and everyone is saying that I killed!"

"Bored them to death, huh?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"Der-ek!" she yelled, pretending to be more angry than she actually was.

"Well you are the girl who called me up right before the show because she'd forgotten all her lines, right?" he said. "And the one who thought she would fall off the stage in the dance number in the second act?"

"Well," she said, huffily, "I guess that next time I'm nervous I'll be sure to call someone who won't throw it back in my face later."

"No you won't," he smirked, knowingly.

Was she that transparent? For the hundredth time since she had gone to see him, she found herself wondering if he knew how she felt about him . . .

"Anyways," she said, ignoring the entire line of conversation. "I killed out there tonight."

"I knew you would, Case," he said softly.

Just then a tall thin girl let herself into the dressing room.

"Casey, can I talk to you for a minute?" she said.

Casey nodded and told Derek that she would call him back later.

* * *

"Summer stock?" he asked, when later arrived. "Like doing inventory?"

"No, theater," she explained. "Summer stock is theater done by a company during the summer time."

"Well, why don't they just call it that?" he sighed.

"Derek, that's not the point," she said. "The point is that they've invited me to stay over the summer. They even want to pay me and give me a free place to live."

"So," he asked, nonchalantly, "are you going to do it?"

"I . . . I don't know," she said. "Do you think that I should?"

She sort of wanted him to say "no." As much as she had always wanted to do professional theater, she somehow wasn't sure about it anymore and realized that she wanted him to tell her to come home. She wanted to hear him say that he'd miss her too much if she didn't and that . . . and that he longed to see her. She imagined him telling her how he felt about her and asking her to spend the summer with him.

"I think you have to," he said, deflating her melodramatic daydreams. "I mean, it's always been one of your dreams to get paid for this sort of thing, right?"

"Well, yeah," she said hesitantly.

"Well, then," he said, "you can't really turn this down, now, can you?"

It wasn't really a question though. It was a statement.

"No," she said, "I guess I can't."

They talked for a little longer before saying goodnight. After hanging up the phone, Casey closed her eyes, leaned back against the headboard of her bed, and sighed. Of course he had told her to stay. Upon further reflection, she realized that she wouldn't have respected him if he hadn't. Derek wasn't the type of guy who would have asked her to sacrifice her interests. Yet somehow she wasn't happy with the course of that conversation . . .

* * *

A month later, Derek left school to head back to London and Casey didn't. He turned on his radio and set off on the long drive home. Five minutes later he turned the radio off. It was full of people whining about their pathetic love lives. He didn't need to hear any of that at the moment.

Derek knew perfectly well that this summer was going to suck. There was no denying it this time or hedging around it—he just wanted to see her. No, it wasn't just that. He wanted to be with her. And not like a brother and not like a friend. But wasn't like he could have told her that. It wasn't like he could have said screw your dreams and our parents and come home and be with me. Fucking Summer Stock.

And what exactly was she to him anyways? He knew that he liked her, but this was different than it had been with his girlfriends. Even with Sally who he had really cared for. Weirdly, maybe Casey was still sort of like his sister because the only other person who had had anywhere close to this sort of strangle hold on his feelings was Marti. Maybe it was because she had been his stepsister before any of this had started . . .

As he drove back to London, Derek realized that he could never really return. He was past the point where he could go back to the way things had been in high school and to thinking of the MacDonald-Venturis as a blended family. No, Casey had really done a number on him.

As the miles passed and he got closer and closer to London, his thoughts moved backwards through the past year, thinking of all the things that had happened between them. How he now talked to her on the phone every day, sometimes more than once. How she called him when she was nervous and how he called her whenever anything exciting happened. How he had been so happy that time she came to visit and the way that he had held her as she was leaving. How nervous he had been about asking her to come. How earlier in the year a snarky e-mail from her had thrown off his whole day and led him to make out with a girl who, although now a good friend, could never have been a lover. How he had racked his brains trying to think of a Christmas present that would show her that he saw her for who she was. How he had secretly hoped that she would e-mail him and had already thought of what he wanted to say to her by the time she finally did. How he had been in a crappy mood the last few weeks before they left for college, and how, although he had refused to admit it at the time, it had had everything to do with her.

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He didn't just like her or even care for her the way that he had cared for Sally. He was head over fucking heels in love with her.

And Derek Venturi slammed on the breaks and turned the car around.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Like I said, I hope the ending wasn't too abrupt. Perhaps that's a ridiculous concern considering how slow building this story has been but I think that what Derek realizes in this chapter is a huge step for him. This chapter was also harder to write after "Open Mic Night" (hence the break to write that oneshot), because sadly, it looks like Derek is dangerously close to loving Sally and I wanted Casey to be his first true love. However, I am banking on them never having him use that word . . . And even if he did love Sally, I think that the chapter could still work.


	10. Long Distance Something

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the delay in posting this. It turned out to be quite a busy weekend and I didn't have as much time to write as I had hoped. I'm not really sure that I'm happy with this. It seems a little bit anticlimactic. Not that this is a very dramatic little story. Hope that you like it though . . . Read & Review.

* * *

It didn't happen like in the movies. She didn't just open the door, look deeply into his eyes, and kiss him. Hell, she didn't even open the door. By the time he arrived it was the late afternoon and somehow he expected her to be home. Although he knew that she was living with a girl named Anya and her boyfriend for the summer, he was caught off guard when a tall, thin, blond girl answered the door.

"Yes?" she asked, looking at him quizzically. "Who are you?"

"I'm Derek," he said, "Casey MacDonald's st—Derek."

The girl gave him an amused look, as if, on the inside, she was laughing at him. Something about it made Derek scowl.

"Oh," she said, knowingly, "of course. Casey's long distance something."

"D-Did she say that?" he stuttered, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could despite his nervousness. Knowing that she had said that would have somehow made him more secure in what he was doing.

"No," the girl said, looking at him strangely, "I just figured that's what it was like since she talks to you on the phone everyday."

"Oh," he said, with disappointment in his voice.

"Dude," said the blond girl, with laughter in hers, "she talks to you on the phone _everyday_!"

Derek scowled again in annoyance. "Is Casey here or not?" he asked angrily.

"No," said the girl, clearly put off by his tone of voice, "but if you calm the fuck down you can come in and wait for her. She should be back from rehearsal soon."

"I'm Anya, by the way," she said leading him into the living room.

"I figured," he said, "Casey talks about you."

Anya was apparently quite nosy. In the 45 minutes that he waited for Casey, she managed to ask him a number of overly personal questions. Somewhere between them he managed to text Edwin to let him know that he wouldn't be home that day and actually didn't know when he would be back. Anya didn't even give him time to call—not that he was exactly eager to. Plus, his cell phone battery was running out.

Finally, when Derek thought that he couldn't take much more of it, Anya's boyfriend came bursting through the door. He was talking to someone over his shoulder, and with a mingled sense of relief and nervousness Derek realized that it was Casey.

"Derek!" she said, bursting into a smile, surprise evident in her voice. "What are you are doing here?!"

"Well, I . . . um . . ." he started nervously.

"Robert, Anya," she said cutting him off, "this is Derek, my . . . my . . . Derek."

This time Anya actually did laugh and Casey turned beet red.

"Derek, this is Robert," she said. "And it looks like you've already met Anya."

"Good to meet you, man," said Robert extending a hand.

"Same here," said Derek.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked again.

"Well," he said looking around nervously, "I was heading home when I realized that . . . that I really didn't have any commitments this summer so I thought, why not visit?"

He would save the more complete explanation for later, when he didn't have an audience. Anya and Robert were still watching them . . .

"That's right," she whispered almost to herself, her face visibly lighting up. "You were kind of planning on just slacking around the house this summer weren't you!"

"Well thanks for being so positive about my lifestyle choices, I guess," he said cocking his head quizzically.

"No," she said, smiling softly, "I mean that I guess I hadn't realized that you were free . . . That there's no reason why you couldn't slack around here if you wanted." At that she looked down and blushed.

"And you're supposed to be the smart one," he said with an affectionate smirk, knocking gently on her head.

"Der-ek," she said softly, and pulled him into a hug.

"Well," said a somewhat uncomfortable Robert, "what does everyone want for dinner?"

They didn't get a chance to talk until later that evening when Robert and Anya finally took the hint and gave them a bit of privacy. Derek had just asked Casey to sit down and was pacing around the room trying to figure out how to tell her how he felt when her cell phone rang. Derek sighed in exasperation. Who knew that holding a simple, life-changing conversation would be so difficult?

"Don't get that," he said.

"I have to," she said, giving him a don't-be-irresponsible type of look. "We'll have plenty of time to talk afterwards."

Derek sighed again and sat down the couch, reclining backwards and closing his eyes as Casey picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she said. Either the volume was set abnormally high or the person at the other end of the line was practically shouting because Derek could make out every word.

"Hello, Casey?" said George. "I'm sorry to bother you at this time of night but we've been calling Derek all evening and have tried all his friends and we still haven't been able to find him."

"Find him?" Casey asked, shooting him a puzzled look.

"Yeah," said George, sounding frantic, "apparently he sent Edwin a text that he wouldn't be home tonight but we have no idea where he is. Your mother and I are really worried."

"Calm down, George," said Casey, looking at Derek angrily, "Derek is right here. Do you want to talk to him?"

Derek was panicked; he didn't want to have to explain his actions to their family until he knew how she felt about him. He shot her a look and tried to motion that he didn't want to speak to his father. Casey just rolled her eyes at this.

"Yeah," said his father, sounding stunned at learning that he was there. "Put him on the phone."

Apparently the shock quickly wore off because by the time that Casey had forced the phone on him his father was in full yelling mode.

"Derek, what the hell did you think you were doing?!" yelled George. "You can't just send that kind of text message! Didn't you think we'd wonder where you were?!"

"Sorry, Dad," said Derek. "Just chillax; I'm okay."

"I will not 'chillax,' Derek!" he said. "What are you doing there anyways?"

"Yeah, about that . . . could I call you back later?" asked Derek, fiddling with his collar and looking around nervously. "It's not really a good time to get into that."

"No, you can't call me back later," said a flabbergasted George. "What are you doing there?"

"Dad," Derek said firmly, a tinge of anger seeping into his voice, "I'll call you back later. It's not a good time!"

"Oh, you better call me back, Derek!" shouted George. "And you better have a good explanation for all of this!"

"Love you too, Dad," said Derek, hanging up the phone.

"Derek, what the hell is wrong with you?!" yelled Casey. "How could you talk that way to George?! Can't you even imagine how worried everyone must have been?!"

"Wow, I thought I had hung up the phone on my father, but maybe I didn't," he replied.

"Excuse me?" she said, looking at him incredulously, clearly surprised by the way he was talking to her.

"It's okay, Case, you're excused," he snarked.

What the hell was he doing? He had driven all the way out here to tell her how he felt and now here he was picking fights with her? This wasn't happening like in the movies. Not at all.

"Derek, seriously, why would you just come here without even calling home or giving them any explanation?!" she asked angrily.

Did she really have no idea why telling them he was coming here might be awkward?!

"Because," he shouted, becoming more and more angry, "maybe I didn't exactly feel like telling them the reason I came here!"

"And what's that, Derek?!" she yelled back.

"This!" he said, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her.

It was brief, passionate, and at the same time, somehow tender. Before she even had a chance to respond, he pulled back and looked her in the eyes questioningly. His own eyes were filled with nervousness and he couldn't make out what she was thinking. She brought her fingers to her lips, as if in a daze.

"That's a good reason," she said, after what seemed like an eternity, "but I think I'll need more of an explanation."

"Oh," he said, unable to keep the disappointment out of his voice, and turned away from her slightly. "Well . . . um . . . I was driving, and—"

"No," she said softly, cutting him off and touching his arm so that he had to turn toward her. "That's not the kind of explanation I meant." She was smiling softly but there was also a kind of fire in her eyes.

"Oh," he whispered, realization spreading across his face and a goofy smile appearing on his lips.

Apparently amused by it, she cocked an eyebrow at him and that was all the encouragement that he needed. She laughed as he grabbed her by the waist and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

It was everything that he expected and more—deep, ardent, and full of all the feelings that had been growing between them over the course of the year. He ran his fingers through her hair and across her back, almost as if confirming that it was really her and this was really happening. He was kissing the girl that he loved. "Best conversation ever," he whispered when they finally came up for air. She laughed softly and kissed him harder.

And as their lips crashed against each other, Derek Venturi was purely happy. In that moment, he knew that, despite distance, family, and any other obstacles that their relationship might encounter, the two of them would be okay.

Of course, Casey was still Casey, so before the "fun conversation" went too far, they she insisted that they actually sit down and talk about their future, how they felt, and what they were going to do about their family. Currently, Derek was waiting for her to get out of the shower so that this not-so-fun conversation could begin.

It wasn't really the first two parts he was worried about—he loved her and wanted to be with her. Now that he knew she wanted this too, he wasn't afraid to say it. But telling the family, well, that wouldn't be fun. He didn't actually expect it to go that badly. He felt sure that, since this made them happy, their parents would come to accept it eventually. It would just be a lot of questions and awkwardness and things that he would rather not deal with. Tired of waiting for Casey to return, he plopped himself down on her bed and leaned back against the headboard. By the time Casey got out of the shower, he had begun texting.

"What are you writing?" she asked, looking over his shoulder. Smirking slightly, he casually handed her his phone and she began to read.

_Nora. Have decided not to come home this summer. Staying here with Casey. Also, am in love with your daughter. Love—_

"Der-ek!"

**Author's Note:** So that is the end of the story. I'm a little bit pleased with myself for finding a way of writing the title into the story. I honestly had no idea of how or if I would when I began this. Anyways, I am debating about whether or not I should add a one-chapter epilogue to this. I do have an idea of where they'll be a few years down the line and how to integrate a brief explanation of what happened immediately following these events into that. However, if I have learned anything from J. K. Rowling, it's that an epilogue can sometimes detract from a story. Hence, I'm not sure if I should write it. Let me know what you think, and of course, let me know what you thought of the chapter.


End file.
